Klaus Maria Brandauer was a music student and studied drama at Stuttgarter
Hochschule. He was a true stage actor and therefore didn't like to work
in movies except for two small parts in Top Secret (1972) and Ein Sonntag im Oktober (1979). This
changed when Hungarian director István Szabó gave him a leading part in
Mephisto (1981). Brandauer received the actors award in Cannes and that opened
door to international films. Together with the movies Oberst Redl (1985) and
Hanussen (1988), all directed by István Szabó, these three movies formed the 'German
trilogy' of Brandauer. He received a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination
for his role of Bror Blixen in Jenseits von Afrika (1985). The first movie he directed
himself was Georg Elser - Einer aus Deutschland (1989). He also played the leading role in this
movie.
